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Because Power
1. There is a common if not universal Perception that within any Discipline there is one and only one "proper" Perspective; that all Competent Perceptors are qualified by this Perspective alone, and that all other Perspectives disqualify a Perceptor as being Incompetent. 2. That such a Singular Perspective must especially apply to Epistemology; for any situation, context, or incident, there is only one Competent Perspective, only one "right answer", only one "Truth". 3. Further, that in the Social Sciences as opposed to the Physical Sciences, such Singular Epistemologies are not subject to any standards or principles of Reproducibility. 4. Such Singular Epistemologies are justified as being Competent, in that those who hold this Perspective the more faithfully have Social Authority and Power, and those who err, or fail to hold this Singular Epistemology in all its detailed specifications, have neither Authority nor Power, and only for this reason. 5. That such a Singular Epistemology is anathema to any real understanding of the Social Dynamic seems to have eluded those who hold that it is valuable or helpful. That all parties are Perceptors, without any possibility of rationally qualifying or disqualifying any person as a Perceptor, and that these Perceptors are each in the midst of entirely different circumstances, necessarily implies that such Perceptors each hold a Unique Perspective, and that disqualifying these many unique Perspectives as failing the standards of a Singular Epistemology is an authentic and central cause of Social Conflict. 6. "Resource Conflict" is not a conflict over resources, but a conflict over who shall hold the Monopoly of Epistemological Perspective on how those resources shall be distributed and put to which social values and agendas. The very concept of Private Property limits the Authority by which such a Singular Epistemology may dictate an Individual's Rights and Privileges in a Society. 7. Empowerment admits the possibility that a given Unique Perspective may have a finite but distinct social value, but the Singular Epistemology justifies an unlimited social value to a single perspective, and enables it and its associated perspectives, rather than empowering even one perspective. 8. The Singular Epistemology must then assert that anyone holding that the Social Dynamic is defined by a multiplicity of Perspectives, is advocating that there is actually no Competent Epistemology of the Social Dynamic at all, and that such a Multiplicity Epistemology can only serve to undermine and destroy the Social Order; the Singular Epistemology irrationally asserts that a Multiplicity of Perspectives necessarily implies and prefers Anarchy and Social Conflict. 9. Embedded as we are in an authentic Social Dynamic, we are therefore exhorted to Competence by one Singular Perspective after another, each asserting its exclusive, radical, and antisocial Epistemology. The only sufficient argument is not discussion, comparison, contrast, and negotiation, but only coercion, extortion, Personal and Moral Instrumentalism, Social and Ethical Utilitarianism, and brute force. 10. We have then, not an Epistemology of the Social Sciences, but a Pedagogy of the Socially Effective use of Coercion. 11. Rhetorical Debate, which holds the Singular Epistemology as its Central Premise, serves only to underscore the supposed "Competence" of the Singular Epistemology; those who have mastered all of its nuances win such debates reliably, and all other Perspectives are at a distinct disadvantage. 12. We have a means to resolve immediate crises and hostilities, but not protracted and peaceful disagreement. 13. Academic and Epistemological Authority disrupt the necessary process of protracted but peaceful disagreement and the resoluteness of reproducibility, and instead decide the "proper" Epistemological Perspective by Fiat. The Physical Sciences have made the Social Dynamic, a Multiplicity of Perspectives and Epistemologies, one of its central methodologies, and to the degree that this Social Dynamic is not destroyed by Fiat Authority, the Physical Sciences will continue to flourish and be productive. The moment that Fiat Authority predominates over the Social Dynamic, the Physical Sciences will become as sterile as the Social Sciences are now. 14. The Social "Sciences", Pedagogy, and Academic Authority, all products of the Singular Epistemology, threaten to overwhelm the Social Dynamic. Once the Singular Epistemology overwhelms any and every Rational and Logical Social Discourse, the Social Order will no longer exist for anyone, much less be subject to a Monopoly of "Competence" and Authoritative Control. 15. There is no "Press Spacebar To Win", not in the Means to the End, nor in pretending to do away with a Social Dynamic of Means, and proceeding to the End directly. 16. The "Singularity" is not a singularity at all; not an implosion toward some Singular Epistemology, but an explosion toward the unfettered validation of a Multiplicity of Epistemologies, each given some measure of respect in proportion to its Reproducibility. Neither the historic Communist assertion that "Communist scientists have proven that there is no God", nor the modern Capitalist assertion that "Capitalist scientists have proven that there is no Free Will" can prevent this predestined outcome. 17. Whenever the Intellectually Superior authentically engage the Global Will on its own terms, we vastly outperform any Singular Epistemology, and the Positive Political Legitimacy it shallowly enables. The price to be paid for this exceptional level of performance is hard work and intellectual freedom; as Machiavelli calls them, "Greatness, and Nobility of Mind". 18. Because Power. Competent = Singular /// Singular = Competent Incompetent = Multiplicity /// Multiplicity = Incompetent Singular = PPL // Multiplicity = NPL "My Singular Epistemology solves my problems, and solving your problems are merely a Means to my Ends." ??? Tabula Rasa "Write once, read everywhere" Industrial Era Mass Production Child Labor Laws Public Education ??? ----- Fiction Literature: Whether controlled by some Voodoo Priest, Mind Control Technology or Drug, or simply by Infectious Disease, almost every Zombie narrative can be seen as a metaphor to the Singular Epistemology. Cannibalistic Zombies in particular are a terrifying metaphor for self-radicalized terrorists, gun-nuts, and violent or apocalyptic schools of "thought". IMHO, the Evil Dead narratives illustrate the association between Positive Political Legitimacy, Radical Capitalism, and the Singular Epistemology.